The story behind the change in the title of the "national treasure" giant panda

Author: Zhu Fangang, Director of the Party History Research Office of the Baoxing County Party Committee (County Local History Compilation Center).

Animal "living fossils" national treasure giant pandas have been around since ancient times, but in 1869 the French missionary and naturalist Armand. Before David (Chinese name: Tan Weidao) came to DengChigou in Muping (also known as Muping, present-day Baoxing County) in Sichuan, the world's scientific understanding of giant pandas was almost blank. Even if there is, it is hazy, more messy and superficial. Before this, the giant panda was not called a giant panda, and there was no unified title from top to bottom, before and after.

Archaeology has found that the giant panda has a life history of about 8 million years, and the history can be traced from 4,000 years ago. According to the data, as far back as 4,000 years ago, when the Yellow Emperor attacked the Yan Emperor, he trained an "army of beasts", including the giant panda now known as the giant panda, and fought a big battle at Hanquan (present-day Zhuolu County, Hebei). Ancient Chinese books mainly refer to the giant panda as "tapir", more than 2,000 years ago, in the "Erya" written in the early years of the Han Dynasty, there is a record of "tapir body color black barge, eat bamboo" record. Sima Xiangru, a literary figure born in Shudi, listed nearly 40 kinds of rare and exotic beasts raised in the "Shanglin Garden" in Xianyang at that time, and the giant panda ranked first, and the Han Wudi Emperor Liu Che herded the giant panda in the Shanglin Garden, which was more than 200 miles longitudinal, and was proud of successfully hunting it. It can be seen that the giant panda was already regarded as a precious famous beast at that time.

There is no doubt that Shanglin Garden is the first safari park in the world with a certain scale. In 1975, when the Zhang Li Brigade of Dizhai Commune (now Baoqizhai, Dizhai Community, Baqiao District, Xi'an) was repairing a reservoir near the Nanling Tomb of Empress Dowager Han Bo of the Han Dynasty in Bailuyuan, Baqiao District, Xi'an City, the bones of horses, sheep, dogs and some animals were found in the burial pit of Nanling, including the skull of a giant panda for the first time. This is enough to prove that the distribution of animals in The Forest Garden, as Sima Xiang said, is not at all false.

Pandas in the long ancient times, people are difficult to see, so the name is very diverse. For example: 貔 (pi) 貅 (xiu), found in the Book of Poetry, Guo Pu's annotations to Erya Shu, Erya Yi, Li Ji, Emei Shan Zhi, Hongya County Zhi, etc.; White Fox, seen in Erya County; Zhiyi, seen in Kong Zhuan Shujing, Lu Jie (Wu) Notes on Mao Shi, Erya", Guo Pu's annotations to Erya Shu, Erya Yi, etc.; Zhi Beast, see Li Ji(pi), in Lu Jie's "Mao Shi Guangjiao"; Wen Yi, see "Zhuangzi"; Pi Qiu, seen in "Emei Mountain Zhi"; Jiaoduan, seen in "Hongya County Chronicle"; Gan general (referring to the name of the male beast), found in the "Ciyuan" and "Erya Wing"; 貅 (referring to the name of the female beast), seen in the "Ciyuan", "Erya Wing"; tapir, seen in "Erya", "Compendium of Materia Medica", Bai Juyi", "Tapir Pingzan", "Chronicle of the States of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty", "Commentary on the Interpretation of Characters", "Nanzhong Zhi", "Old Book of Tang", "Lei Bo County Chronicle", "Youyang Zhizhi (nai) Prefecture General Zhizhi", "Zhushan County Chronicle", "Changyang County Zhi", etc.; 貊, found in the "New Treatise", "Beast Classic", "Guangya", "Zhili Li Li Zhilin", "Later Han Shu", "Zhongshan Jing", "Shuzhong Guangji", "Shuzhong Guangji", "Yongzhong Zhilin", "Qi", "Shuzhong Guangji", etc.; 貊, found in "New Treatise", "Beast Classic", "Guangya", "Zhili Lizhou Zhilin", "Later Han Shu", "Zhongshan Jing", "Shuzhong Guangji", "Shuzhong Guangji", "Shuzhong Guangji", "Yongzhong Zhilin", etc.; 貊, found in "New Treatise", "Beast Classic", "Guangya", "Zhili Lizhou Zhilin", "Later Han Shu", "Zhongshan Jing", "Shuzhong Guangji", "Shuzhong Guangji", "Zhizhong Zhi", etc.; 貊, found in "New Treatise", "Beast Classic", "Guangya", "Zhili Lizhou Zhilin", "Later Han Shu", "Zhongshan Jing", "Shuzhong Guangji", "Shuzhong Guangji", "Zhizhong Guangji", etc.; 貊, found in "New Treatise", "Beast Classic", "Guangya", "Zhili Lizhou Zhilin", "Later Han Shu", "Zhongshan Jing", "Shuzhong Guangji", "Shuzhong Guangji", "Zhizhi", "Shuzhong Guangji", etc.; Youyang Miscellaneous Tricks", "Guangzhi", "Badong County Chronicle" (Hubei Zigui) and so on.

In addition, there are xuan tapirs, which are found in the "Wang Hui Chapter"; the white leopard, which is found in Lu Jie's "Mao Shi Guangyao" and "Erya"; the fierce leopard, which is found in the "Shuzhong Guangji"; the fierce beast, which is found in the "Shuzhong Guangji"; the iron-eating beast, which is found in the "Shuzhong Guangji", the Jin Zuosi "Shu Dufu", the "Beichuan County Zhi", the "General Zhizhi of Youyang Zhili Prefecture", and so on, as many as thirty or so.

Sun Qian, former inspector of the Sichuan Provincial Tourism Bureau and researcher of giant panda culture, pointed out in an article: "In ancient Chinese, there is a noteworthy phenomenon, that is, for all kinds of physical objects that people come into contact with in social life, they are mostly called by a single word... For wild animals, such as tigers, leopards, jackals, bears, elephants, rhinos, and so on, and so on. These terms have been used to this day and have not changed their connotations. At the same time, for the vast majority of the above mammals, if not all, there are ancient artifacts or extremely realistic paintings as evidence... At the same time, ancient Chinese has a process of gradual evolution and development from single-word to multi-word. ”

It can be seen that the tapir in the ancient language is the ancient name of the giant panda, not the tapir in animal taxonomy today, and those who insist on treating the tapir in the ancient language as a tapir are obviously in the midst of a rigid and well-organized barrier.

In fact, the ancients did not look at major pandas. The earliest record of giant pandas is most likely the Classic of Mountains and Seas: "The leopard is like a bear and small, shallow in hair, shiny, able to eat snakes, eat copper and iron, leopard or tiger." According to Guo Gao's view in the History of Ancient Chinese Zoology, the "fierce leopard" is the tapir leopard, which is now the giant panda. After the Tang and Song dynasties, the giant pandas in the literature were basically only found in the southwest region. In the book "Geographical Distribution of Wild Animals in Ancient China" by paleozoologist Wen Rongsheng, the wild animals recorded in the Fang Zhi of the past dynasties are excerpted, of which the origin of the giant panda is in western Sichuan, and it is said that the jiading province and Yazhou where the giant pandas are most concentrated are not even mentioned in the Tang, Song and Ming dynasties.

In the seventh year of the Yongzheng Dynasty (1729) of the Qing Dynasty, volume 38 of the "Sichuan Tongzhi Andi" volume 38 directly under Jiading Prefecture, there is no mention of giant pandas, and there are only records of musk and squirrels under the Yazhou Article; in the fourth year of Qianlong (1739), the "Chronicles of Yazhou Prefecture and Property" mentioned that there were "bears" in Mingshan County, but it was not accurately described as a giant panda. Under the article "Jiaqing Reconstruction of Unity Zhi, JiadingFu, and Native Products", there are still only records of musk and no giant pandas; in the Xianfeng Decade (1860), there is no fragment of giant pandas. It was not until the third year of Tongzhi (1863) that the Jiading Fu zhi Fang Yu Zhi And Property was compiled and revised, that the mythical object "Qi Qi" was mentioned, and the description was also very brief: "Non-fierce beasts also." ”

It wasn't until 1869 that the giant panda was killed by Armand. David first scientifically discovered and named it in Muping, Sichuan, and the name of the giant panda, a rare species hidden in the mountains and unknown, was gradually unified and recognized by the world. Giant pandas are also loved by the world and have gained a new life.

So, how did David scientifically discover and name the giant panda, and since then unify the title of national treasure in the world?

To find out the original tail, we have to start from a small town in the Mountains of Biri Niu in France.

David was born in this town in 1826. Influenced by his father's love of naturalism, he loved nature from an early age and was a well-known naturalist in the local area. In 1851, at the age of 25, David joined catholicism and became a full cleric of the Church of France. Through various channels, especially the strong information collected from China by French predecessors or colleagues from China, the powerful information has long stimulated him, making him full of curiosity about this mysterious oriental country and strongly hoping to further understand China. In 1852, when he learned of the church's intention to send clergy to China to preach, he immediately asked to send him. But his request did not come to fruition until a decade later.

Before leaving, Miller of the Museum of Natural History in Paris, France. Professor Edwards gave him another task, helping the institute to collect animal and plant specimens in China. In February 1862, during the cold spring season, David embarked on his journey to China. At this time, Europe was at a turning point, and after experiencing the great geographical discoveries of the world and the bloody protection of the maritime colonies, the tide of the Industrial Revolution was pushing society forward rapidly. New plants, new animals, new stars and even new scientific methods strongly attract people to explore and discover, and France was one of the countries at the forefront of the world.

David first came to the French Church in Beijing. In Beijing, in addition to completing the work of the church, he was deeply attracted by the variety of fresh and strange flora and fauna here. He was very diligent, often going to the vicinity of Beijing to collect animal and plant specimens, and constantly sent the finished specimens back to Paris, which was highly affirmed by the researchers of the Natural History Museum of Paris.

Later, he went to Shanghai. As if fate had its own destiny, this trip to Shanghai completely changed David's life. In Shanghai, he met a Chinese student from Lingbao College in Muping, Sichuan. The student told him that the French dean of their academy had collected many plant specimens in Muping to be transported back to His country, and the news made David extremely excited. So he decided to go to Muping.

In February 1869, David arrived in Muping. Led by his guide, David traveled along the Linqiong Ancient Road and Tsingyi Road route of the Southern Silk Road and the Tea Horse Ancient Road, from Chengdu via Xinjin Ancient Ferry, Qionglai Oil Pressing Head, Lushan Dachuan Town, and finally over the top of the urn to the place of Dengchigou in the middle of the Qionglai Mountains, where Muping belongs at the southern foot of The Golden Mountain. The footprints of French missionary activity here date back to at least 1802. At that time, Priest Zhou Ye of the French Far Eastern Church began to preach in Dengchigou, and in 1829 Zhou Ye died of illness and was buried here, and since then, it has become a holy place for the Western Sichuan Catholic Church. Thirty years before David came, in 1839, his ancestors built a large-scale Chinese and Western Catholic church covering several acres in this mysterious place, and also opened a church school - Lingbao College, which created good conditions for David, who was not familiar with the land, to quickly integrate into the lives of the local people, and finally by chance, he discovered the rare new species of giant pandas, the "living fossils" of animals, in a short period of time. Soon after arriving, with years of experience in field expeditions, David felt strongly that this was the place he had long dreamed of and sought, the home of a spiritual people, a kingdom of flora and fauna. The mountains and river valleys here are covered with virgin forest, allowing the old wildlife to survive and survive. The Buddhist belief in the reincarnation of the soul and the universality of all beings is another important reason why these animals are protected. On the contrary, where people enter, often the trees are cut down, the land is exposed, and the vegetation is seriously damaged, which is extremely detrimental to the survival of animals and plants.

When he first arrived in this mysterious area, David encountered a difficult problem and almost overturned all his plans. For reasons of superficial protection of religion in favor of rule, Muping Toast recently reaffirmed the decree prohibiting hunting. Fortunately, the management was not strict, and the local hunters did not take it seriously, so David did not take much trouble to buy them with money, so the hunters still hunted for Specimens for David as usual. On the 11th day of David's arrival in Dengchigou, on his way back from collecting specimens from the mountain, he was invited by a local family surnamed Li (li is now one of the big families here). In this home of a man surnamed Li, he saw a black and white animal skin that he had never seen before, which was quite large and a very peculiar animal, and the locals called it "Flower Bear". As if guided by fate in the darkness, the Frenchman was suddenly so close to a mysterious animal that was bound to stir the world. Moreover, he instinctively realized that this could be a major discovery. Because when he mentioned this animal in his records, he used the word "famous.". The word can be interpreted in French as "first class", or "important". Since most of this animal is white fur and has never been heard before, in order to facilitate expression, he temporarily gave it a name called "white bear". On March 17, David took his servants on a field trip. They are fascinated by the geological structures and flora and fauna along the way. They walked farther and farther, lost three times, and were still climbing the dangerous ice and snow creek ditch at night. David understood the danger of the situation and repeated over and over again: "If we can't die tonight, then we will never die!" As a result, a young farmer who was collecting medicine in the mountains came to save them with a horse lantern. David said in his diary: "It was a terrible day, but it didn't conquer my confidence in collecting natural resources. ”

After that, David eagerly hired local hunters to help catch this strange animal "white bear". On March 23, local hunters brought a juvenile "white bear" that was still alive when it was captured, and for the convenience of transportation, the hunter killed it. The hunter sold the "white bear" larvae to David for a very high price. David thus confirmed the existence of this strange animal.

On April 1, 1869, the hunters brought with them a juvenile white bear, which was originally alive, but for easy carrying, the hunters killed it. However, whether dead or alive, as a naturalist who can get such a precious specimen, he still feels more satisfied and happy than ever. After another week, the hunters brought back another identical animal, but the black was not so pure and the white part was dirty, and David determined that this must be a new species, and he officially named the animal "Black and White Bear".

When David sent the black and white bear specimen to Paris for display, it immediately caused a sensation. People see a round face from the animal skin, the eyes are surrounded by two circles of round black spots, like wearing fashionable sunglasses, and there are actually exquisite black ears, black nose, black lips, which is simply the effect of makeup on stage, too incredible. As a result, some people asserted that this fur from China was absolutely untrue and must have been artificially forged. At that time, it was already the director of the Natural History Museum in Paris, Miller. After carefully and carefully studying the animal's fur and bones, Professor Edwards categorically dismissed the arbitrary claim of falsification and determined that it was a new scientific discovery. In 1870, Miller. Professor Edwards published an article entitled "On Several Mammals in Eastern Tibet", arguing that although the appearance of the "black and white bear" is similar to that of the bear, its skeletal characteristics and dental system are very different. Convinced that "black and white bear" was a new genus, he named it "Big Cat Bear" to distinguish it from another, smaller, similar species, the Kitten Bear.

Later, with the discovery of the giant panda and its going to the world, its name was also debated for a long time, but in the end, the academic community still generally adopted Miller. Professor Edwards' research has led to the designation of the newly discovered species in the scientific community as the "Big Cat Bear."

It is widely said that in 1939, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the scientific discovery and naming of giant pandas, Chongqing Pingming Zoo held an exhibition of animal specimens, of which the "cat bear" specimen attracted the most attention of the audience. At that time, the signs used the popular international writing format, indicating Chinese and Latin respectively, but because the customary reading of the Chinese at that time was from right to left, visitors always read "cat bear" as "panda". Over time, people have conventionally called "big cat bears" "giant pandas". Later, a newspaper in Taiwan wrote an article to justify the name of "panda", but the people have become accustomed to it, but they feel that "cat bear" is not so smooth. Since then, the modern name "giant panda" was born and frozen.

In fact, the term "panda" existed as early as 1915. According to the data, the "Zhonghua Da Zidian" "Bear" (3), compiled in 1915 and published in 1935: "Panda, animal name, like a cat and good to ascend the book.". So far, public reports of the word "panda" date back to at least the Declaration of November 25, 1922. At that time, one of the participating teams of the "Westerners Basketball Club" held in Shanghai was the "'Panda Team' of Shanghai Public School american school and youth association".

Today, when exactly the word "panda" began to appear is still a mystery, and we look forward to our investigation and discovery.